From the Military to the Interior Ministry: "They Called Us the Intimates"

Former Cuban Lieutenant Colonel Raúl Risco Pérez shared insights in an interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba, discussing the cultural shock experienced by officers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) when they were forcibly transferred to the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) following the purges triggered by Cause Number 1 of 1989. This restructuring led to the execution of General Arnaldo Ochoa.

The MININT officers greeted the new arrivals with hostility and mockery. "When we arrived at the Ministry of the Interior, some called us invaders; others gave us the nickname of something very personal that women use: they called us 'intimate' because we had come to a good place at a bad time," recounted Risco Pérez, referring to comments made by Captain Leyva.

Raúl Luis Risco Pérez, a former lieutenant colonel of both the FAR and MININT, who is now a lawyer, former political prisoner, and Cuban dissident residing in Tampa, initially attempted to resist the transfer without success.

"I wanted to continue in aviation and parachuting," Risco Pérez explained, but General Martínez Puente made it clear there was no room for negotiation: "It's an order from the minister, and it must be followed. You must go to the Ministry of the Interior."

Thus, he and other officers from various FAR divisions were integrated into the MININT as part of a restructuring process following the 1989 purge, during which the military leadership loyal to Raúl Castro took control of the institution after the dismissal and subsequent conviction of Minister José Abrantes.

The contrast between the two bodies was immediate and striking. According to Risco Pérez, "The Ministry of the Interior had a much higher standard of living. They considered themselves superior to the Armed Forces officers, and in reality, they were."

The material differences were stark: "Hundreds of MININT sergeants, for example, had cars, good houses, while we did not," he noted.

In the FAR, the situation was drastically different. "We had colonels in the FAR, and many times, a colonel only had the Russian chief assigned for being the head of a battalion or regiment; they didn't have personal cars and usually lived in microbrigade buildings with leaks everywhere," he recalled.

This disparity created tension from the outset.

Risco Pérez is also a co-founder of the Cuban Movement of Conscientious Objector Military, established in February 2021 alongside retired Brigadier General Rafael del Pino and other former officers, urging active military personnel not to repress the Cuban population.

In his discussion with Tania Costa, he explained how he fell out of favor for drafting a report opposing Fidel Castro's idea to increase sentences for cattle theft and slaughter from 5 to a maximum of 20 years.

His account joins those of other ex-military members who experienced the 1989 purge firsthand, such as Máximo Omar Ruiz Matoses, another former lieutenant colonel of the FAR and MININT, who was sentenced to 29 years in prison—later reduced to 20—after calling for the resignation of Fidel and Raúl Castro during a high command meeting in 1990.

In a May interview with NTN24, Risco Pérez urged Cuban soldiers not to sacrifice their lives for what he described as an unjust cause and asserted that military personnel should disobey orders to repress civilians.